Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles: Carbon Emissions

Lord Krebs: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the yearly targets for manufacturers of electric vehicles will be in line with the Climate Change Committee's balanced net zero pathway.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: We are continuing to analyse responses to the technical consultation on zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate policy design, and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course. We remain committed to targets entering into force from January 2024.

Bus Services: Finance

Lord Goddard of Stockport: To ask His Majesty's Government whether any agreements forareas looking to form enhanced partnerships under theBus Service Improvement Programme grants have been signed; whether they are (1) fully, or (2) partially, funded; and if they are partially funded, what levels of financial need are funded.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Bus Service Improvement Plans are intended to demonstrate Local Transport Authorities’ vision for bus in local areas, and to draw on a number of funding sources over the long-term.All 79 Local Transport Authorities in England outside London are pursuing either an Enhanced Partnership or developing a business case for franchising to deliver their bus services. 34 places have been allocated funding from the £1.1 billion Bus Service Improvement Plan budget.Around half of the Local Transport Authorities that are pursuing Enhanced Partnerships have completed them so far. Bus Service Improvement Plan funding, in conjunction with City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements for Mayoral Combined Authorities, will support local bus transformation but is not intended necessarily to entirely fund all projects.

Bus Services: Finance

Lord Goddard of Stockport: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the grant fundingwithinBus Service Improvement Programmes is for physical measures only, or if it covers support for services too.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Bus Service Improvement Plan funding includes both capital funding for physical infrastructure, and revenue funding for fares measures and service enhancements.

Bus Services: Finance

Lord Goddard of Stockport: To ask His Majesty's Government when they will formally (1) announce, and (2) award,Bus Service Improvement Programme grants; and when the 34 areas chosen will receive (a) funding, or (b) written confirmation of funding.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: 34 places received an indicative funding allocation for their Bus Service Improvement Plan.24 had their allocations confirmed in August. For 10 places we have had further questions to resolve with the authorities first. Decisions on confirming those allocations will be made in due course.Delivery of most of the allocated funding is conditional on the submission of a robust and ambitious Enhanced Partnership between the local council and bus operators. We are working closely with stakeholders to ensure these are in place, with the first round of grants expected to be released in November. Two locations are pursuing a system of franchising, for which the release of funding is conditional on adequate mechanisms being in place to deliver the improvement plan before franchising takes effect.

Motor Vehicles: Carbon Emissions

Lord Cameron of Dillington: To ask His Majesty's Government when they will respond to the Policy design features for the car and van zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate consultation, which ran from 7 April to 10 June.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Responses to this consultation are being analysed and the Government will publish its response, and a full regulatory proposal and cost benefit analysis, in due course. The Government remains committed to targets entering into force from 01 January 2024.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Summertime: Energy

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to keeping British Summer Time through the winter to reduce energy demand.

Lord Callanan: The Government believes the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK. While there is the potential for some benefits from a change in the current arrangements, there is also a real risk of negative impacts. A change to permanent summertime or double summertime may also have significant impacts on certain sectors and businesses. There is insufficient evidence to support changing the current system of clock changes, including for energy usage.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Negligence

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist on 26 September (HL2123),how many of the 30 clinical negligence claims taken to trial in 2021/22 went to (1) the High Court, or (2) the County Courts.

Lord Markham: Following our previous response, NHS Resolution has reviewed the 30 cases taken to trial. It has subsequently identified that one claim was incorrectly classified as having been taken to trial. NHS Resolution has confirmed that of the 29 clinical negligence claims taken to trial in 2021/22, nine were heard in the higher courts, including the High Court and 20 in the county courts.

Ambulance Services: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the most recent available figures for the number of staff recruited to and leaving ambulance trusts in England.

Lord Markham: The following table shows the annual headcount of staff joining and leaving in each ambulance trusts in England between July 2021 and July 2022. JoinersLeaversEast Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust389357East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust567763London Ambulance Service NHS Trust1,315817North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust429324North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust755713South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust835831South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust560598South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust794579West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust1,141807Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust825665 Source: NHS Digital workforce statistics July 2022; Turnover from organisation by benchmarking toolNotes:Staff commencing or returning from maternity leave are not counted as joiners or leavers in this information. This differs from NHS Digital’s other published turnover statistics.Junior doctors have been excluded due to rotation between organisations as part of training.Recorded staff may leave one National Health Service trust to join another. This data does not show staff leaving the health system entirely.

Ambulance Services: Standards

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government what the Category 1 (most urgent) response time was for each ambulance trust in England in September 2022; and what were the comparable figures for September 2010 and September 2016.

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government when was the last monthly period inwhich each ambulance trust in England responded to Category 1 calls within an average of 7 minutes.

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the London Ambulance Service has met any of the government pledges on waiting times, as set out in the handbook to NHS Constitutions, for responding to Category 1 to Category 4 calls in any monthly period over the past 3 years; and if so, what those periods were.

Lord Markham: This information is not held in the format requested. The following table shows the mean Category 1 response time in hours, minutes and seconds for each ambulance trust in England in September 2022. However, this is not comparable to September 2010 and September 2016 as the current standards for ambulance response times were introduced in 2017/18. The following table also shows the last monthly period in which each ambulance trust in England responded to Category 1 calls within an average of seven minutes. TrustMean Category 1 ambulance response time in September 2022Last period in which mean Category 1 response time was less than or equal to seven minutes East Midlands00:09:07July 2020 East of England00:10:49April 2021 Isle of Wight00:10:40Has not been achieved within the reporting time period London00:07:14May 2022 North East00:07:31February 2022 North West00:08:43June 2020 South Central00:09:42May 2021 South East Coast00:09:28May 2020 South Western00:11:10July 2020 West Midlands00:08:20May 2021 Yorkshire00:10:00July 2020 Source: NHS Quality IndicatorsThe mean Category 1 (C1) response time standard of seven minutes was last met by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) in April and May 2022. Between September 2019 and February 2020, the response time standard was achieved in each month except December 2019. The standard was achieved in each month between May 2020 and August 2021 and January to February 2022. The 90th percentile response time standard of 15 minutes for C1 incidents has been met by the LAS in every month in the last three years except in March 2020.The mean response time standard of 18 minutes for Category 2 (C2) incidents was last met by the LAS in February to April 2021 and between May and November 2020. The C2 90th percentile response time standard of 40 minutes was last met by the LAS in February to April 2021. It was met in each month between May and November 2020, September to October 2019 and January 2020.The Category 3 90th percentile response time standard of 120 minutes was last met by the LAS in February and March 2021 and between April and November 2020. The Category 4 90th percentile response time standard of 180 minutes was last met by the LAS in February 2021 and in each month between April and November 2020 except September and also in October 2019 and January 2020.

Department for Education

Children in Care: Disability

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s Safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs in residential settings: phase 1 report, published on 26 October, what plans they have to conduct a nationwide review on similar homes, with a particular focus on concerns raised by parents.

Baroness Barran: The department wants to thank the national child safeguarding panel for their recent report and ongoing review. Their final report and recommendations will be published next year.The police investigation is ongoing. The complex abuse investigation started in March 2021, and all children who lived in the children’s homes were moved to alternative homes by April. The children’s homes have since closed.The department issued a Written Ministerial Statement setting out the actions we are taking on the day the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report was published.The department has:Sought assurances from local authorities about the safety and wellbeing of all children who were living in the three homes when they were closed.Asked local authorities to review their commissioning processes for children and young people with complex needs and ensure they act on concerns.Reiterated the importance of Disclosure and Barring Service and employment checks being undertaken prior to employment in residential establishments.In August 2022, the Panel asked all local authorities in England to:Review urgently the quality and safety of individual placements of children in specialist residential provision.Local Authority Designated Officers (LADO) review all information on any LADO referrals, complaints and concerns over the last three years.Local authorities will report to the department by the end of the year.The department’s plans for responding to recent reviews of children’s social care and support for children with special educational needs and disabilities are being drawn up in parallel, building a coherent system that works for all vulnerable children. We are rapidly working up an ambitious and comprehensive implementation strategy in response to these reviews.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Myanmar: Human Rights

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the call bytheWomen’s League of Burma and Burma Campaign UK to refer the situation on human rights in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is clear that there must be accountability for the atrocities committed in Myanmar. We condemn the ongoing serious human rights violations committed by the Myanmar military, including the historic atrocities against the Rohingya. These actions require further scrutiny, and the UK is supportive of any attempts to bring these issues before the International Criminal Court.

Vicky Bowman

Lord Alderdice: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held, if any, with the government of Myanmar concerning the imprisonment of former UK ambassador to Myanmar Vicky Bowman and her husband; and what further measures they intend to take in response.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Officials at the British Embassy in Yangon are in regular contact with Ms Bowman to check on her welfare and continue to maintain consular access. We are monitoring Ms Bowman's situation closely and will continue to support her, and her family, until the case is resolved. We will always act in the way that we judge is most appropriate in the case and in the best interests of Ms Bowman.

Nagorno Karabakh: Land Mines

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to (1) maintain, or (2) increase, their funding for demining efforts in Nagorno–Karabakh.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government has committed £1 million following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to UNDP to support mine-action efforts in Armenia and Azerbaijan. As discussions regarding future funding are ongoing the UK Government cannot comment further at this time. We remain committed to supporting Armenia and Azerbaijan to recover from the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as to supporting international efforts to secure stability and security in the region.

Myanmar: Sanctions

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the callby theWomen’s League of Burma and Burma Campaign UK to impose aviation fuel sanctions on Myanmar.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the call by theWomen’s League of Burma and Burma Campaign UK to enacttargeted sanctions against (1) the Burmese military, and (2) its proxies.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Since the military coup in Myanmar on 1 February 2021, the UK Government has imposed 12 tranches of sanctions targeting the military's leadership, and its access to revenue, arms and military equipment.On 28 February 2022, the UK updated its Overseas Business Risk Guidance to make it clear that UK businesses should conduct thorough supply chain due diligence to ensure that commodities such as aviation fuel do not reach the Myanmar military. The UK is exploring both sanction and non-sanction measures to tackle the Myanmar military's air capabilities and ability to target civilians.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Blackstone: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of incidents in which Palestinianchildren were (a) killed, and (b) injured, by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, (2) the number of investigations that were opened by the Israeli authorities into those incidents, and (3) the number of those investigations which led to an arrest or charge, in the last five years.

Baroness Blackstone: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel regarding the continued (1) killing, and (2) injury, of Palestinian children by (a) Israeli forces, and (b) Israeli settlers in the West Bank, this year.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We regularly raise the issue of Palestinians killed and injured by Israeli Defence Forces in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli authorities, encouraging them to carry out swift, transparent and thorough investigations and if wrongdoing is found, that those responsible be held to account. We will continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.

Development Aid: Climate Change

Baroness Sheehan: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to (1) identify, and (2) establish, finance streams to support countriesvulnerable to the effects of climate change and who are already experiencing those effects.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK's International Climate Finance supports developing nations adapt and build resilience to the effects of climate change including through improved food security, water management and preparedness against climate-related disasters. At COP27 the Prime Minister announced the UK will triple our funding on adaptation from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5 billion in 2025. In addition, in partnership with the Champions Group of Adaptation Finance, the UK and other climate finance providers are collaborating with climate vulnerable countries, to address barriers to increasing flows, quality, effectiveness and accessibility of adaptation finance.

Myanmar: Arms Trade

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the call bytheWomen’s League of Burma and Burma Campaign UK to institute a comprehensive global arms embargo.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is a longstanding supporter of an arms embargo on Myanmar. We are clear that countries should not sell arms to the Myanmar military. On 27 March, the UK coordinated a joint statement with 48 signatories that committed us to working to prevent the flow of arms and equipment to the Myanmar military. We have also worked with international partners at the G7, UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council.to secure strong language on stopping the flow of arms.We have extensive targeted sanctions on the military and its business interests, including on multiple institutions responsible for procuring weapons from abroad. We are working closely with partners on next steps, including securing further commitments from the international community to halt the transfer of arms, equipment and spare parts to the military.

Mohammed Ramadhan

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 26 October(HL2556), in which they confirmed that they are opposed the use of the death penalty in Bahrain, when were the last five occasions they raised the case of Mohammed Ramadhan with the government of Bahrain; what was the title of the UK representative who raised the case; and what was the title of the Bahraini representative or authority with whom the case was raised.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK's long-standing policy is to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, in all countries, as a matter of principle, which we have made clear on a regular basis to the Government of Bahrain. This includes regarding the case of Mohammed Ramadhan and others.

Cameroon: Human Rights

Lord Boateng: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of state sponsored human rights abuses in the Cameroon after the reported shooting of a four year old girl by a gendarme in the Anglophone South-Western region of that country; and what discussions they have had the governments of (1) Cameroon, and (2) France, regarding this.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Following the shooting of the four-year old girl in Buea, the British High Commission in Yaoundé issued a statement condemning the act, welcomed an investigation by the Cameroon Ministry of Defence, and raised the incident directly with the Cameroonian Government. The UK works regularly with international partners, including France and the US, to raise the crisis in multilateral fora. At the UN Human Rights Council in March, we called for an end to violence and for impartial investigations to hold the perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses to account. The UK has also funded training to improve human rights reporting and better protect human rights defenders in Cameroon.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Homosexuality

Lord Lexden: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Goldie on 25 October (HL2691), what steps they are taking to provide compensation for pension losses caused to members of the armed forces who were discharged or dismissed solely on grounds of sexual orientation before 2000, and who would otherwise have been able to serve until reaching their immediate pension point or to the point of full career retirement.

Baroness Goldie: As defined within primary legislation, Armed Forces pension awards reflect the actual time served. In 2000, a member would have served 16 years as an Officer or 22 years as an Other Rank to qualify for the immediate payment of a pension on discharge, and those who served at least two years would be entitled to receive a deferred pension, payable at age 60 for service between 1975 and April 2006. Circumstances of dismissal relate to terms and conditions of employment and not the provisions of the Armed Forces Pension Schemes, meaning that Service personnel dismissed or discharged in respect of their sexuality retained their accrued pension rights.In the early 2000's, the Ministry of Defence settled a number of claims from former members of the Armed Forces who had been dismissed for being LGBTQ. The compensation awarded to claimants consisted of damages for loss of earnings, loss of pension and injury to feelings. These claims were reported in the national press at the time of settlement. However, upon completion of the Lord Etherton PC Kt QC independent review into the impact of Defence's historic policy on homosexuality, the Government will carefully consider the recommendations and decide what action to take.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they intend to take in response to the data published by the Department for Work and Pensions on 1 October which showed that most Personal Independence Payment claimants successfully appealing a decision did not present new evidence at tribunals.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The data published was for the period July 2013 up to March 2022, and covers the period since the introduction of the benefit. The aim of the decision-making process is to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey. We are constantly looking to improve our processes and learn from tribunal outcomes. Since PIP was introduced in 2013 we have made improvements to our decision-making process to ensure that we not only gather all material evidence as early as possible, but more that we carefully consider that evidence so that we identify the key facts that inform the decision made. Of course, Tribunals are independent and in discussing the same evidence directly with the claimant may obtain a different perspective and thereby reach a different conclusion.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Lee Valley

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what additional support they will give to vegetable growers in the Lee Valley, following reports that more than 10 per cent of them have gone out of business in the past year.

Lord Benyon: An innovative, productive, and competitive agricultural sector is one of HM Government's key priorities, and we recognise the role greenhouse crop production, such as that carried out by the vegetable growers in the Lee Valley, has in ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh produce.We are aware of the challenges facing greenhouse growers and other farming sectors as a result of the increase in the cost of a range of inputs, including high energy prices, and the impact this is having on producers.Our plan to support the horticulture sector was outlined in the Government Food Strategy, launched on 13th June, which announced the development of a new Horticulture Strategy for England which aims to increase domestic production through the adoption of a range of growing models.We are also looking at a potential future offer for the Producer Organisation Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme. We are currently exploring the best way to support the sector once the Scheme ends in 2025.While no Government can control the global factors pushing up the cost of energy, we will continue to support our farmers and growers through these difficult times. Our Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to ensure that all eligible businesses, including farming businesses, are protected from excessively high energy bills over the coming winter period. We will also be supporting businesses to improve their energy efficiency by at least 20% by 2030.

Pesticides: Research

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what plansthey have to commission research into the interactions between herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, and their combined impact on (1) bees and other pollinators, (2) other insects, and (3) water supplies and aquatic life.

Lord Benyon: There is currently no research commissioned or funded by Defra specifically focused on the interaction between, or combined impact of, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides on the environment and non-target species. However, Defra currently funds a range of research into the impact of pesticides on the environment and non-target species. This includes the chemical analysis of honey samples collected through the National Honey Monitoring Scheme that assesses the exposure of honey bees to pesticides at a national scale, and research exploring how we can improve our monitoring to better understand the effects of pesticides on other pollinators. Defra also jointly funds the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme with the devolved administrations and partners, which generates systematic data on abundance of bees, hoverflies and other flower-visiting insects at a national scale. Additionally, the Environment Agency monitors the levels of pesticides in rivers across the United Kingdom.

Reservoirs: Farms

The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthe current storage levels in on-farm reservoirs.

Lord Benyon: The Environment Agency (EA) does not routinely monitor the storage levels in the privately owned 2,000 farm storage reservoirs in England. We know that many farm storage reservoirs are currently at low levels and the EA, working with the agriculture sector, has assessed that at least average long term winter rainfall is required to ensure they are sufficiently full ahead of next year's irrigation season. Rainfall below 100% will mean that filling reservoirs this winter will be challenging.To help improve its understanding of the prospects of filling farm storage reservoirs, the EA is planning to provide regular updates to the farming sector on river flows at key strategic flow sites and whether they are at levels which will allow abstraction to refill reservoirs.

Farms: Water Supply

The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: To ask His Majesty's Government what help they are giving to ensure that farmers can access the water they need this winter to give them confidence to plant next year’s crops.

Lord Benyon: Through Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) we are working closely with agricultural sector groups, including the National Farmers Union (NFU), to support farmers to fill farm storage reservoirs this autumn and winter. The EA has a package of measures in place to support farmers through Local Enforcement Positions to allow abstraction beyond their licence conditions. These include taking high flows, when available, to start early refill of storage reservoirs; working with water companies to share their supplies to help farmers; prioritising abstraction licence applications associated with storage reservoir grant applications; encouraging farmers to review water needs and vary licences now to improve their resilience for next year. Agricultural representatives, including the NFU, are members of National Drought Group (NDG), which is regularly meeting and has contributed to understanding the risks for agricultural production and has agreed actions to reduce the impacts. The NDG met on 14th October 2022 to discuss the prospects for winter recharge, potential for drought conditions in 2023 and actions to help different sectors, including agriculture. My colleague, Trudy Harrison attended the meeting, highlighting the importance of this issue to HM Government. The next meeting will be on 28 November 2022.

Environmental Land Management Schemes

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in rolling out the Environment Land Management Schemes; and how will those schemes benefit (1) tenant farmers, (2) smallholdings, and (3) upland farmers.

Lord Benyon: Following extensive testing and piloting, we began the successful roll out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive to eligible farmers in June 2022. We opened the scheme with two soils standards and a moorland standard, providing the opportunity for many thousands of farmers to be rewarded for taking care of their soil or assessing the condition of moorland. The scheme will expand each year, with the full set of standards available by 2025. As of 18th October 2022, over 4,450 farmers had started their applications, of which 1,980 had been submitted to the Rural Payments Agency and these are swiftly moving to live agreements. We will continue to expand the scheme as more funds are released from Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) reductions.We are continuing to design the successor to Countryside Stewardship through co-design with stakeholders, farmers, foresters and other experts. We have used the outputs of a range of tests and trials to inform the design of the scheme, as well as working collaboratively with farmers and other land managers to design the actions we will pay for to ensure that they are less prescriptive and more flexible than current Countryside Stewardship options. We published some information about the likely shape of the scheme in August 2022, and we will publish more detailed information on what we will pay for later this year.In February 2022 we launched the first Landscape Recovery competition. We confirmed the 22 successful projects from the first round of applications on 2nd September. Collectively, the successful projects aim to restore nearly 700km of rivers and protect and enhance 263 species such as water vole, otter, pine marten, lapwing, great crested newt, European eel and marsh fritillary.We are working to make the Environmental Land Management schemes accessible to all kinds of farmers, foresters and other land managers who can deliver the land management activities the schemes pay for, including tenant farmers, small holdings and upland farmers. We are working with farmers, farming organisations and other experts, and reviewing the recommendations in the Rock Review by the Tenancy Working Group to achieve this.

Avian Flu

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with stakeholders regarding the current outbreak of avian flu.

Lord Benyon: Defra in collaboration with the Devolved Administrations host regular avian influenza stakeholder meetings attended by organisations representing the breadth of the bird keeping sector including commercial, small scale, pet and specialist bird keepers, together with ornithological, veterinary, wildlife rehabilitation sector representatives. Expert advice is also sought by the UKs Chief Veterinary Officer and animal health policy officials through the Ornithology National Experts Group , and Great Britain Avian Exotic Disease Core Group which include representatives from across the bird keeping sector. These forums, in conjunction with facilitating transmission of information from HM Government on the latest outbreak situation, control measures and biosecurity advice to the sector, provide the opportunity for the sector to escalate questions and feedback to HM Government. Engagement with stakeholders is further facilitated through the Defra and Welsh Government Avian Influenza Wild Bird Recovery Advisory Group and the NatureScot taskforce on avian influenza, on both the impact of avian influenza on wild birds and the long term actions which may be needed to support species recoveryIn addition, the Animal and Plant Health Agency is leading on a cross-government, cross-agency review of lessons from the recent outbreak which will identify what went well and areas where improvements can be made to improve the effectiveness of the response to future outbreaks. Stakeholders, including small avian farms, have fed into this process and their suggestions and concerns will be reviewed as part of this.

Fisheries: Monitoring

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of remote electronic monitoring of UK fishing vessels.

Lord Benyon: As part of our commitment to delivering a world class fisheries management system, Defra is developing a set of proposals for expanding the use of remote electronic monitoring (REM) in English waters.Defra is using a strong evidence-base to assess which fisheries and monitoring priorities we should focus on. This will help us to maximise the potential of this technology and ensure that it complements other marine and fisheries reforms, such as fisheries management plans.

Fruit and Vegetables: Production

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the low level of self-sufficiency in fruit and vegetables in England; and what steps they will take to increase domestic production.

Lord Benyon: We have a high degree of self-sufficiency in many of those fruit and vegetables suited to our growing conditions. For example, in 2021 we were able to provide 57% of our vegetable needs, and 72% of the strawberries consumed. Our innovative and enterprising farmers and growers are now exploring ways to maximise this further by optimising growing conditions to increase yields. With advances in technology, they have already extended the growing seasons of a variety of crops through the adoption of Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) technologies enabling crops to be grown and harvested year-round in a climate-controlled environment.Our plan to help our fruit and vegetable growers to increase productivity and domestic production was outlined in the Government Food Strategy, launched earlier this year, which announced the development of a new Horticultural Strategy for England. This will cover a range of growing models including high-tech controlled environment growing to increase domestic production.Defra has committed £98 million for the first round of the Farming Investment Fund which provides grants to farmers and horticultural growers so that they can invest in the equipment, technology and infrastructure that will help improve their productivity while enhancing the environment. We have also invested significant funding to provide grants for industry-led innovation across the farming sectors, including CEA, through UKRI's £90 million Transforming Food Production programme, and more recently through the £270 million Farming Innovation Programme with over £70 million of competition funding committed to date.

Dogs: Animal Welfare

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the practice of cropping dogs' ears.

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they aretaking to close the loophole in existing legislation that allows dogs with cropped ears to be imported into the UK.

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to discourage the promotion of ear-cropped dogs on social media.

Lord Benyon: The practice of non-exempted mutilations such as cropping dogs' ears is abhorrent and has rightly been banned in the UK for 15 years.This Government is committed to eradicating the illegal cropping of dogs ears, not just addressing the practice's promotion on social media. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation e.g. where it is not carried out for medical purposes, including the cropping of a dog's ears. Now that The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 has come into force, anyone convicted of such an offence, faces being sent to prison for up to 5 years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both.The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was reintroduced to the House of Commons in May. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. This power will allow us to prioritise the welfare of dogs by prohibiting the importation and non-commercial movement of dogs into Great Britain that have been subject to low welfare practices, such as ear cropping or tail docking, in line with our domestic legislation on these practices.In August 2021, HM Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take onboard the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.The department maintains a national communications campaign (Petfished) to raise awareness of issues associated with low-welfare and illegal supply of pets. This includes providing clear signposting on where responsible breeders and rehoming centres can be found and encouraging prospective buyers to research the seller thoroughly before they visit and decide to purchase. The campaign provides a list of red flags for buyers to look out for when searching for a pet online. More information can be found here: https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk/.We have also endorsed The Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) which was created to combat growing concerns about the irresponsible advertising of pets for sale, rehoming and exchange and backed a set of Minimum Standards that PAAG developed which several of the UK's largest classified websites have agreed to meet.

Reservoirs: Farms

The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with theEnvironment Agency about increasing the number of on-farm reservoirs; and whether they will make their advice public.

Lord Benyon: The Farming Transformation Fund (FTF), part of the overall Farming Investment Fund, provides grants towards large capital items such as on-farm reservoirs for water management to help agriculture businesses improve productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability. The Environment Agency (EA) continues to support the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), who administer this fund by determining the abstraction licences associated with these applications. In response to customer feedback, the RPA extended the full application submission deadline for the Farming Transformation Fund water management applications from 30 June until 30 September 2022. It also extended the deadline for the submission of planning permission and abstraction licences from 31 December 2022 to 31 March 2023. The RPA has also sent out a second tranche of projects to submit FTF water management full applications. The deadline to submit a full application is 30 November 2022. The deadline for the submission of planning permission and abstraction licences, where they are required for a project, is 31 May 2023.

Food Security: Ukraine

The Duke of Montrose: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to update their United Kingdom Food Security report, published on 16 December 2021, to take account of (1) the crop and production failures this year, and (2) the impact of the war in Ukraine on food supplies.

Lord Benyon: Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020 the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security and will do so every three years. The next United Kingdom Food Security Report will be published by December 2024. The UK has a high degree of food security built on access to a diverse range of sources including robust supply chains from various countries, and strong domestic production. The 2022 domestic harvest and the war in Ukraine have had little impact on the UK’s overall food security. In addition to the United Kingdom Food Security Report, Defra collects and publishes annual data on UK domestic agricultural production and overseas trade in its “Agriculture in the United Kingdom” Report.

Standing Charges

Lord Goddard of Stockport: To ask His Majesty's Government what directions they intend to give Ofwat to reduce or abolish standing charges, to ease the financial burden on consumers, particularly the poorest.

Lord Benyon: Ofwat and the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) wrote to water companies on 18th October 2022 regarding water bills and requested companies to:show that they understand the needs of their customers and respond accordingly;ensure that more customers are benefiting from support measures;consider how they can mitigate any significant inflationary increases in customers' bills for 2023-24; andto set out, by 8th December, their plans for supporting customers through current cost of living pressures. Defra expects all companies to make sure households are aware of the support schemes available to help those struggling to pay their bills. That includes bill discount schemes such as Watersure and social tariffs, payment holidays, adjusting payment plans and getting support for customers on managing their personal finances.

Agriculture: Lee Valley

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic challenges facing vegetable growers in the Lee Valley due to increasing energy prices.

Lord Benyon: We are aware of the impact increasing energy prices are having on greenhouse growers and other farming sectors and we continue to keep the situation under review. In October this year we wrote to a sample of industry representatives to request information to inform future policies to support greenhouse crop production. We are pleased to have received an informative response from Lea Valley Growers Association. While no Government can control the global factors pushing up the cost of energy, we will continue to support our farmers and growers through these difficult times. Our Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a welcome price reduction to ensure that all eligible businesses, including farming businesses, are protected from excessively high energy bills over the coming winter period. HM Government is engaging with businesses and trade associations to understand more about how effective the scheme is and which groups are most in need of further support after the six months. In the longer-term, we will be supporting businesses to improve their energy efficiency by at least 20% by 2030.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect vaccinations and Differentiate Infected from Vaccinated Animals tests to act as the primary control measure for bovine tuberculosis; and what assessment they have made of the costs of implementing such controls.

Lord Benyon: When combined with other disease control measures, we anticipate that a cattle vaccine, used in conjunction with a DIVA test to detect infected among vaccinated animals, has the potential to be a valuable additional tool in efforts to eradicate bovine tuberculosis. Vaccination is likely to enhance, not replace, existing control measures such as TB testing and movement controls. HM Government is currently funding field trials in the United Kingdom aimed at gathering information to support applications for national marketing authorisations for the CattleBCG vaccine and DIVA skin test. Provided the field trials go as hoped and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate considers the applications satisfactory, we are aiming for marketing authorisations to be granted in 2025. The cost of implementing cattle vaccination and DIVA testing will be dependent on the model of deployment adopted. Options for deployment are being considered and will likely be subject to consultation in the future.

Home Office

Visas: Families

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the speed with which the foreign spouses and children of British citizens can complete their UK Family Visa applications in the event of them needing to leave a country without delay.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Priority services for UK Family Visa applications made outside of the UK are temporarily suspended. We are keeping this under review and will reintroduce the priority service as a consequence of steps taken to facilitate visas arising from Ukraine conflict when possible.In exceptional circumstances, requests to expedite UK Family Visa applications are considered on a case-by-case basis and take a range of factors into consideration.The Super Priority Visa (SPV) service is available to applicants applying for a UK Family Visa from within the UK. Applicants who choose to use the SPV service should get a decision by the end of the next working day after attending their biometrics appointment.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government what methodology they used to calculate the number of migrants reaching the UK by boat from France in the last three months; and what was the total number of migrants calculated to have reached the UK by boat from France in the last three months, including a breakdown of (1) the estimated number of those of Albanian origin, and (2) the number of those of Albanian origin who are single men; and the speed at which the process of identifying country of origin is now being completed.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office publishes data on detected small boat arrivals to the UK on gov.uk in the quarterly Irregular Migration to the UK release – the latest data are published includes information on nationality, age and gender and goes up to the end June 2022.Information about the calculation methodology is given in the ‘About the statistics’ section of the release.With respect to the speed of identifying country of origin, in most cases, an individual arriving by small boat has this information recorded within 24 hours. Where this is not the case, it is likely due to a false claim being made, or the subject refusing to answer the question.

Migrants: Detainees

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have adopted the recommendation in the report by Stephen Shaw Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons (Cm 9186), published in January 2016, to reduce the use of detention for immigration purposes and to explore alternatives.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The government remains committed to using detention only where necessary. Indeed, the vast majority of people liable to be removed from the UK are granted immigration bail. Stephen Shaw’s reports (from 2016 and 2018) led to a comprehensive and systematic programme of work to improve and reform immigration detention, informing both our strategic and tactical approach to reform and the treatment of people who are detained. The broad programme of reforms has strengthened our decision-making and safeguards for the vulnerable, ensuring those who are detained are treated with dignity and respect in an estate that is fit for purpose. As part of the Department’s immigration detention reform programme, we conducted two pilots exploring alternatives to detention. In line with international best practice, each pilot ran for two years before final evaluation.The first of these pilots, Action Access, provided women who would otherwise be detained with a programme of support in the community. This pilot concluded on 31 March 2021 after operating for two years. The second pilot, the Refugee and Migrant Advisory Service, supported both men and women and concluded in June this year as planned.We are working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on these pilots and they have appointed the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to independently evaluate this work. The evaluation report of the Action Access pilot was published on the 24 January 2022 and the report for the Refugee and Migrant Advisory Service is due to be published early next year. We will use the evaluations of these pilots to inform our future approach to case-management focused alternatives to detention. The immigration removal estate is kept under ongoing review to ensure sufficient resilience and capacity for the men and women it is necessary to detain for the purposes of removal.  In April 2022, faced with an unprecedented situation on the south coast, the Government announced a package of measures to tackle illegal migration, further strengthen safe and legal routes and break the business model of people smuggling gangs. As part of wider work to support this package, the Government announcement confirmed that the removals estate would be expanded. In operating these sites our focus will be on dignity, welfare and safety.

Refugees: Afghanistan

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether difficulties in securing the provision of suitable accommodation have delayed any individuals granted an offer of resettlement under Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme from travelling to the UK.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We are pleased to have welcomed the first arrivals to the UK under Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). And we will continue to welcome many more people, as we receive further referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). We anticipate receiving referrals from UNHCR for up to 2,000 refugees during the first year of ACRS Pathway 2 – and it is vital that those who come to the UK through this pathway have somewhere suitable to stay. Despite housing pressures, we continue to work closely and at pace with Local Authorities – whose support for resettlement is voluntary - and other partners, including Community Sponsorship Groups. This close collaboration enables us to source suitable accommodation and provide wrap around support for the families we resettle under ACRS Pathway 2. The number and make up of referrals to this pathway is - and will continue to be - based on several factors, including the UK’s capacity to provide families with appropriate accommodation. The rate at which we progress referrals will be determined in partnership with the UNHCR. The Home Office will include Afghan resettlement statistics in its quarterly Immigration Statistics publications, in due course.

Refugees: Ukraine

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they aretaking to (1) review, and (2) update, their (a) refugee resettlement programme, and (b) emergency migration contingency measures, in response to the shifting nature of the war in Ukraine.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: As the war in Ukraine evolves, the Government will continue to monitor the situation and offer support, including through safe and legal pathways.

Asylum: Rwanda

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government which airline they plan to use to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We do not routinely disclose commercial or operational information relating to individual charter flights.

Visas: Families

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the delays by TLScontact processing UK Family Visas in (1) Russia, and (2) other countries; and what steps they intend to take to address those delays.

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to stop TLScontact retaining applicants' passports for up to eight months whilst UK Family Visa applications are being processed.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: TLS Contact and VFS Global operate the network of overseas Visa Application Centres (VACs) on behalf of UKVI. Whilst the collection of biometric data is outsourced to commercial partners, they have no involvement in visa decision-making, which are made by British Government officials, and are unable to influence a visa decision outcome in any way.Customers attending a VAC overseas will have their passport retained by the commercial partner whilst a decision is made on their application by the Home Office. Once a decision has been made, the commercial partner will contact the customer to invite them to attend the VAC to collect their passport and decision. Customers have the option of purchasing the ‘Keep my Passport’ service, which allows them to retain their passport whilst a decision on their application is being made.TLS only oversee biometric appointments and document decision and do not have any involvement in visa decision making. (1) Family members of British Nationals in Russia, who need to make an urgent visa application, can contact TLS via the link on their website for support. There is sufficient appointment availability in (2) other countries to allow customers to attend an appointment elsewhere.

Visas

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Sharpe of Epsom on 24 October (HL2526), why they do notroutinely publish any data on numbers of individuals that have overstayed their visa expiry in the UK; and whether they will publish the numbers for India in each of the past five years.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office publishes statistics relating to exit checks, which can be found on gov.uk, which provide statistics on the number/proportion of visas for which:a) The individual was recorded as departing in time (before their leave expired)b) The individual was recorded as departing latec) The individual has no matched departure recordThe statistics do not provide information on the number of overstayer due to known limitations in the data. For example, an individual travelling to or from the UK via the Common Travel Area will be included in the ‘no matched departure record’ category. Further information is provided in the published report and accompanying user guide on gov.uk.The latest statistics are published in the Fifth report on statistics relating to exit checks and future plans for these statistics outlined in the recent publication on Developments in Exit Checks, also found on gov.uk.

Slavery

Lord Coaker: To ask His Majesty's Government which Minister is responsible for modern slavery where no illegal immigration has occurred,given that modern slavery has been removed from the remit of Minister for Safeguarding and placed under the heading ‘Illegal migration and asylum’ within the remit of the Minister for Immigration.

Lord Coaker: To ask His Majesty's Government which Minister is responsible forBritish victims of modern slavery, given that 31 per cent of all potential victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism in 2021 were UK nationals which do not fit under the heading ‘Illegal migration and asylum’ within the new remit of the Minister for Immigration.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Government remains committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and supporting victims, regardless of policy portfolio.There are close links between modern slavery and migration; about two thirds of potential victims are foreign nationals, and often potential victims have ongoing engagement with the immigration system.While a Ministerial portfolio hopes to group together related policies, there will be elements of complex policy areas which fall across multiple portfolios. Home Office Ministers work together on complex policy issues.

Slavery

Lord Coaker: To ask His Majesty's Government which Minister is responsible for the National Referral Mechanism, given that it (1) is no longer alongside modern slavery within the remit of the Minister for Safeguarding, and (2) has not been added to the remit of Minister for Immigration.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Modern Slavery now falls under the remit of The Rt.Hon Robert Jenrick as the Minister of State for Migration. There are close links between modern slavery and migration. About two thirds of potential victims are foreign nationals, and often potential victims have ongoing engagement with the immigration system so having one minister overseeing both modern slavery and migration will help to ensure the interaction works effectively.

Visas: Families

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to address expedited UK Family Visa applications, and (2) to provide early right to remain for those applicants.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Requests to expedite UK Family applications are considered on a case-by-case basis and take a range of factors into consideration.An applicant applying in the UK to extend a family visa (spouse or partner on a 5-year route to settlement) should get a decision within 8 weeks.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing Market: Small Businesses

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support more small and medium sized building firms to enter the housing market; and what form any such support will take.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government is supporting SME housebuilders through the Levelling Up Home Building Fund. The Fund provides development finance to SMEs to build new homes. This includes loans to SMEs as well as funding partnerships with banks and other investors to leverage private capital and support more SMEs. The Fund will enable new SMEs to enter the market and grow their businesses, supporting SMEs who can struggle to access commercial lending.

Private Rented Housing: Evictions

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prospects of an increase in evictions of private renters due to their landlord selling the property between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023; and what forecast they have made, if any, of the extent of any such increase.

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government why the Renters Reform Bill has been delayed; and when it will be published.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government monitors private landlord's intentions to increase or decrease the size of their portfolios within the next two years through the English Private Landlords Survey. The last survey was published in May 2022.To help vulnerable renters who are facing eviction, in 2022/23 local authorities received £316 million in funding for the Homelessness Prevention Grant. Local authorities can use this funding flexibly to meet their homelessness and rough sleeping strategies - for example, to offer financial support for people to find a new home, to work with landlords to prevent evictions or to provide temporary accommodation, among other preventative measures.Legislation will be announced in the usual way.

Capital Investment

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government which local authorities have submitted expressions of interest for Investment Zones; whether they will publish this information as a map; and which of these sites fall into (1) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, (2) National Parks, and (3) the Green Belt.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: We are assessing the proposals received through the recent Expression Of Interest process. Policy announcements will be made in the usual way.

Private Rented Housing: Standards

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government when they will respond to theA Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector consultation, which ran from 2 September to 14 October.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: We are currently analysing and considering the feedback received from the consultation and will respond in due course.

Treasury

Government Securities

Lord Sikka: To ask His Majesty's Government what provisions they are making for the projected losses arising from the Bank of England’s sale of government bonds acquired as part of its quantitative easing programme.

Baroness Penn: HM Treasury agreed to indemnify the Asset Purchase Facility (the vehicle used for quantitative easing) against losses when it was set up in 2009. To date, the APF has transferred over £120 billion of excess cash to HM Treasury from net interest payments on purchased assets. As quantitative easing is unwound, and gilts are sold back into the market, this cash flow is expected to reverse. The first payment to the APF was made in October 2022.The overall gains or losses arising from the APF are highly uncertain and will be determined by the future path for Bank Rate and gilt prices as well as the independent Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) approach to sales.Information on the provisions for future APF payments will be available through the normal Parliamentary Process as part of the Main Estimate expected to be published in May 2023.

Mortgages: Interest Rates

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to assist (1) households at risk of defaulting on their mortgage as a result of rising interest rates, and (2) private renters whose landlord is at risk of defaulting on their mortgage.

Baroness Penn: Mortgage arrears levels remain historically low. According to the latest UK Finance data, there were 74,560 residential mortgages in arrears at the end of June, 10% fewer than in the same period in the previous year. If mortgage borrowers do fall into financial difficulty, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidance requires firms to provide support through tailored forbearance options. The Government has taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders. Whilst the setting of rents and the payment of mortgages are matters for private landlords, ensuring a fair deal for renters remains a priority for this government. The Government has already taken immediate action to help households with the rising cost of living through the Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bills Support Scheme. This is in addition to the £37 billion of targeted support for the cost of living this financial year, which will support homeowners and tenants alike. The Government has also announced an extra £500 million of local support in England via the Household Support Fund (bringing the total amount provided to £1.5 billion since October 2021).

Financial Services: Standards

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider that the new Consumer Duty set out by the Financial Conduct Authority in their policy statement PS22, published on 9 July, is the same as a general duty of care; and if not, what the differences are.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the new Consumer Duty set out by the Financial Conduct Authority in their policy statement PS22, published on 9 July, will be effective.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce a statutory duty of care for consumers.

Baroness Penn: The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) prohibit traders from engaging in unfair commercial practices towards consumers. The CPRs already prohibit practices that contravene the requirements of professional diligence, which is defined as the standard of special skill and care that a trader may reasonably be expected to exercise towards consumers, commensurate with either honest market practice or the general principle of good faith. The Financial Services Act 2021 required the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to consult on whether it should make rules giving regulated financial services providers a duty of care over their customers. This was in response to concerns from Parliamentarians and others, who wanted to reduce levels of consumer harm in financial services. The FCA published a final Policy Statement on its new Consumer Duty on 27 July 2022, following two consultations in May and December 2021. The FCA has set out its views on how the Consumer Duty satisfies the requirement for it to consult on the introduction of a duty of care for financial services firms, and why the Consumer Duty amounts to a duty of care. The FCA, as an operationally independent regulator, is responsible for implementing and enforcing its Consumer Duty rules. It would not be appropriate for the government to comment on the specific rules introduced by the FCA.